Pressing Matters! 6 Surprising Waffle Maker Recipes

Cinnamon rolls — in a waffle maker? Kendall Jenner sent more than half a million Instagrammers into a tizzy with this shot of waffled cinnamon rolls, and for good reason. Built-in pockets for that gooey icing: genius.
Then we started wondering: What other treats besides waffles can you cook in a waffle maker? As Daniel Shumski of Waffleizer — a blog dedicated to this very question — tells PEOPLE, “Cooking in the waffle iron is really transformative when you get a little creative. You put these familiar ingredients in there and out comes something utterly original. And delicious.”

A waffle maker works well for dough-based dishes (we’re looking at you, cookies and pizza) because it applies consistent heat to both sides, giving food a texture that’s simultaneously crispy and airy. See for yourself with these six waffle maker recipes from crafty food bloggers.

She might be launching careers as both a model and fashion designer, but Kendall Jenner still likes to putter around the kitchen. Her waffled cinnamon rolls are an ideal snack for a girl on the go: They’re foolproof to make and take only three minutes to cook.

Henrietta Newman of A Hen’s Nest blogged about this idea even before Kendall did, and posted a helpful tutorial with photos. “Just be sure you have someone to share them with, or you’ll eat the whole plate,” she wrote on her blog.

Waffleizer’s Shumski, author of the upcoming cookbook Will It Waffle?, created a cheeseburger with a homemade buttermilk bun that gets cooked in the waffle maker before the meat. Shumski tells PEOPLE, “What’s amazing about the waffleburger is that its components are instantly recognizable. People love both things—waffles and burgers—separately. When you do a mashup, it’s sort of like, “Wow! Where have you been all my life?”

Blogger Jen Nikolaus of Yummy Healthy Easy got this recipe for moist, rich cookies from her mother-in-law, Nola, while she was visiting. “I would say that these are one of my family’s favorite cookie recipes and they’re probably the easiest too, since they use just six easy ingredients,” she tells PEOPLE. Another bonus: Since the recipe only makes 10 cookies, you can share it with a few family members or friends but you won’t be left with a pile of cookies to snack on all night. (Not that we would ever do that!)

Repeat after us: Waffled falafel. It just has such a ring to it. Megan Newton of blog Food & Whine was inspired by Waffleizer to create this recipe when her younger brother came over dinner. She’d originally planned to use a storebought falafel mix, but opted to make her own when her grocer was out of the boxed stuff. Though her kids were a little disappointed when they realized they weren’t having waffles for dinner, they gave the finished dish their approval. “This is the only way we eat falafel in our house now. The kids love the fun waffle shape, and they’re perfect for packing in lunches. They freeze well too, so you can have waffled falafels whenever you’d like,” she tells PEOPLE.

Tiffany McCauley of The Gracious Pantry created this simple egg dish, which has only 118 calories per serving, as a high-protein option for busy mornings. “These waffle omelets are perfect for making ahead, freezing and popping in the toaster for a quick, easy and healthy breakfast,” she tells PEOPLE. And of course, they’d also pair well with traditional waffles on a lazy Sunday brunchday.

Jill Nystul of One Good Thing created a waffle maker pizza recipe that requires a bit of finagling, but the results are worth it. She precooks the pizza dough on both sides before adding the cheese, pepperoni and tomato sauce. Then, to keep her waffle maker from becoming a sticky mess, she cooks the pizza with the lid open until the cheese bubbles and melts. On her blog, Nystul called the pizza a “stunning success” that she nibbled on all evening.

The Latest Craze in Disco Styles Is See-Through Jeans—but Beware of Foggy Bottoms

On a clear day, you can see forever—or at least that’s the wicked thought behind L.A. designer Agi Berliner’s transparent idea: see-through jeans. Exhibitionists notwithstanding, most folks wear them over bathing suits or as attention-getting evening wear with halters, garter belts and body stockings. Created for the disco crowd, the $34 jeans are selling like, well, hot pants. In just six weeks, 25,000 pairs have already been sold in such major department store chains as Macy’s, Bonwit’s and Saks.

“What’s limiting American designers is that we’re afraid to do something different,” says Berliner, 32, a Hungarian émigré who fled with her family to the U.S. in 1956. Agi thought up the gimmick in London while marveling at the way plastics were being employed by designers of punk fashion. In her L.A. office, where she designs for La Parisienne junior sportswear, Agi spent five days on the phone and six weeks testing to come up with the right plastic.

Agi herself tried out the French-cut jeans with the zipper in front, and quickly found several problems: Some plastics tore away from stitching, others wouldn’t bend and all fogged with perspiration. The ideal material proved to be a vinyl supplied by a bookbinder. The steam was eliminated with a series of vents behind the knees and in the crotch. “They’re no hotter than polyester pants,” claims Agi, “and if you wear them with tights, they won’t stick to your legs.”

Whatever the discomfort and despite the problem of Saturday night feverishness, discomaniacs report one major advantage of the plastic pants: no laundry bills. To keep Berliner’s see-through jeans clear, all the wearer needs is a little Windex.